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<h2>DAS registry help - validation</h2>


<p>


<p> The registration server contains a <a
href="validateServer.jsp">validation mechanism</a>, to make sure that
a registered DAS source  "speaks" proper DAS. When
registering a new service an accession code (segment id) needs to be
provided. This is used to create a DAS request and validate the
response. A service can only be registered if the provided accession
code returns a DAS response that contains data.  </p>


<p> The first time validation is performed is during the initial
registration procedure, then every two hours to ensure that the source
is still available. </p>

<p>If a DAS source can not be validated for more than two days, then a <b>watchdog</b> functionality
can send a notification to the DAS source administrator. This features needs to be opted-in during
registration.
</p>

<h2>Problems during validation</h2>

<p>
A common problem during the validation of DAS servers is that a DAS response turns out not to be valid XML.
A frequent cause for this is the use of the &amp; character in the LINK field of a DAS response.
According to the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/">XML specification</a> <strong>&amp;</strong> is a special character and needs to be protected, e.g. 
by writing is as <strong>&amp;amp;</strong> 

<br/>
<br/>
<a href="mailto:dasregistry@sanger.ac.uk">Let us know</a> if you have any problems with the validation of your DAS servers.

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